I had a birthday!!!

So , if you weren't aware , I had a birthday yesterday. I turned 28!! Kind of  a big deal , but not really. Anyways. I had made a list of 30 things I wanted to do before I was 30 years old , and the first of those 3 years I had is done. (what?!?!) So I decided to give you guys the update on what I had completed. I included things that were still in progress , because I believe progress should count for something. 

27-28 

1. Learn a new language. ( I'm thinking Spanish) Decided on Italian, and is a current work in Progress. 
2. Be Healthier.  I'm counting this because A) I'm drinking way more water than I used to. B) I'm actively buying healthier foods and making sure I have all the food groups on the plate each meal. and C) As a result we're eating out less. Go me! . 
3. Do more Service.  I actually probably shouldn't count this , but , I did help a neighbor out with her service project. I also cooked a LOT of meals for families who had just welcomed new babies into the ward. 
4. Send more Happy Mail.  I sent all of 2 packages and 2 letters so far this year , So I'm considering this a major win. Plus I'm 90% positive I mailed off Christmas/New Years cards as well. I'm definitely counting this as done. 
5. Lose 34 pounds. This is a work in progress. I'm currently at 18 pounds lost. I mean , weight loss is weight loss. That's why I feel justified in counting this towards my goal. 
6. Do one thing that Scares me. Completed 12/21/2015 when I got my wisdom teeth removed. 
7. Clear the Clutter.  I still have a lot more to get rid of i'm sure , but I do have a huge pile of stuff to sell or give to D.I. , so I'm counting this.
8. Read Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. This one is a work in Progress. I got all the way to 4th Nephi before starting over. So I'm starting fresh again. 
9. Go on a Family Disney Vacation.  Back in March , Gregg's family took all of the Brinkerhoffs on a huge Disney family vacation. It was wonderful and I actually got to accomplish a lifetime dream of going to California. 
10. Move out of Current Apartment. Completed 7/1/2015 when we moved across the street into a new apartment haha. 

Other Items on the list for my 30 before 30 are listed below for your viewing pleasure. 

1. Cook way through a cookbook. 
2. Read Old Testament. 
3. Work on Credit. ( This will be an ongoing thing obviously , and a precursor to my last list) 
4. Lose 36 pounds.
5. Buy a new Kitchen Table.
6. Be a Happy Person. 
7. Read New Testament.
8. Go on a cruise with Gregg.
9. Host more Game Nights with Friends.
10. Start " Going Green." 
11. Be more Crafty. 
12. Do something Gregg wants to do without whining about it
13. Volunteer for N.I.L.M.D.T.S ( Read more about them Here) 
14. Get back to wedding weight. 
15. Start Saving for Adoption.
16. Go back to school. 
17. Journal more. 
18. Join a Yoga Class.
19. Get new wedding ring. 
20. Buy a house. ( maybe. we'll see where we're at financially and education/job wise by then. ) 

Anyways , for my birthday I had a nice really relaxed day. Zoe woke up at 6:30 am. Gregg got up with her. Deep cleaned the entire apartment. We took naps. Woke up and played for a little bit. Then we went and got Taco Bell for dinner. We're planning on Cinnamon Rolls for my birthday "cake" sometime this weekend. Probably Saturday or Sunday. It's been a great year, and I'm looking forward to what being 28 brings. 

Prayers Needed

I am writing this post with kind of a heavy heart. I have a friend that I made at work. She used to be a coworker of mine back before Zoe arrived. In fact , she and another coworker of mine dropped off gifts to me when I had to go on bed rest with Zoe due to her trying to come early. Anyways, This friend of mine had a rough time trying to start her family , so when she announced she was pregnant I was thrilled for her. I don't know if she follows this blog or not. I'm assuming not , but just in case , I would like everyone to pray for her.

A few days ago , maybe last week , she had announced that she was having complications with her pregnancy . Her cervix was having issues with holding the baby , and that if they did nothing they'd lose the baby. This is no good. We all know that. Especially since she was only a few weeks along. I want to say 21ish, but don't quote me on that. So the doctors sewed up her cervix and told her she had a 50/50 chance of the baby staying put. , So they put her on bed rest as well. Today she gave us the update saying that She gave birth this afternoon. The baby had come and gone within a few hours.

I know i'm on here whining about how we're having trouble getting pregnant. I have one baby already , and i'll be forever grateful for Zoe and the gift she is to our lives. My friend just lost her baby. One that she won't get to see grow up here on Earth. It's a tragic thing , and I'm grateful for the learning experience I received. I need to always , always , be grateful for what I have. So many people have it worse.

So please , if you don't mind , say a prayer for my friend over the next few days. She and her husband could use all the peace in the world right now.

Sims4

Today's post is all about my sims. Something funny has been happening in my game. Well , actually , it's really sad. I thought it was a good story though , so I wanted to share. I usually just tell my sister or husband all the stories from my sims games. Lately I've been watching YouTube videos of "Let's Play's" and that seems like more fun. I don't know how to do video while I play though , So until then I'll just do this. This is my hobby that I love the most , aside from reading. Instead of being ashamed of it , I've decided to own it like a boss. So here we go into my story telling very quickly so you know what has happened that is sad , but makes me giggle because it's just sims life. 

So, This first guy , he's the character I created months ago to do a challenge with. It's going very well , thank you for asking. His name is Akinli Stoddard. I based him loosely off a character in a book I had just read. The challenge is to complete everything I can in the game. So for now I have aging turned off. Everything meaning jobs, collections , aspirations , and skills. He is currently in the Detective career. 

This Is Candy Stoddard , originally Candy Behr. I might have spelled her maiden name wrong , but you get the point. Well , Akinli met Candy and they really hit it off. As in I have freewill turned on in the game , and he managed to get her knocked up with their oldest. Anyways. I had them get married. She seemed like quite a catch , and they really did love each other. Well I had moved Akinli out so he could finish my challenge. Doing the challenge I've taken on is hard with 6 kids in the house. 

While Akinli was living in town and working we discovered that Candy is a felon. As in her own husband arrested and convicted her of TWO felonies. So I decided maybe he needs to ditch Candy. So I moved him back into the household long enough to gather his collections, because there was no way I was going to lose all my progress over this. Then he divorced her and that was that. 

Yet it wasn't finished because of course they had 6 kids together. This is their oldest child Julissa. I didn't get to name her because Candy and Akinli weren't living together at the time. So , with a father who bailed ( because 6 kids and completing a challenge remember?) , and a mother in prison, Julissa has become the head of the household. I've moved her and the rest of the kids out into a new house. I plan on doing a challenge with just them. I'll introduce the rest of the kids below , then close up this post. 

Next oldest is Eric, one of two blonde kids. 

Next up are the twins Jane and Jillian. In that order. 

This is Jared and the other blonde kid. 

Finally the baby of the house , and an unplanned pregnancy, Jordan 

So that's what i've been doing with my time for the last few months. I love playing sims. If this is something people are interested in hearing about , and maybe even still if people aren't, I'll post weekly about my adventures or give little updates. I do what makes me happy. I do plan on looking for some CC today for my princess challenge I want to start eventually. I don't know when for sure. Depends on when I finish this current challenge. Or get bored of it. Whichever happens first. 

FYI

So later today , because it's currently 1:30am and I should be sleeping, I have a post coming. I'm really excited about this post. Most people won't be as excited about it as I am, and that's okay. I'm excited about it though. It's been forever since I've actually been excited about a blog post. So this feels good. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about it.

Sing with Me Saturday {7}

It's time for another Sing with me Saturday. 

This one I love , it's Mama Said by Lukas Graham. 

Rachel Platten , Better Place. The moms and the kids get me into tears every. single. time. 

Another Rachel Platten song. I love this one for many , many reasons. 

Okay , so this is just the lyric video . I happen to HATE lyric videos , but I  put two on here today because i'm just loving the songs so much Story. My sister had the biggest crush on Nick Jonas growing up. ( I'll give you 1 guess as to which sister. ) I never understood it because that was back in the day when Nick was like the cute little brother and Joe was bae. ( I word I hate , but totally is what fits here. ) Well I get it now. Nick grew up perfectly. So finneeeee. So , Nick Jonas with Chains.  

Please forgive any spelling errors. I'm writing this without my glasses. So basically I'm blind and writing this,

A love song

My sister said I should get back into blogging. To be honest my heart just hasn't been into it lately. I figured I'd post this song. I'm sure I've posted it before, but tonight it reminded me of my grandma, and was exactly what I needed to listen to. So. Grandma, this one's for you, except you're not a boy. But, the feelings are there.

What I'm listening to.

It's been forever and a day since I blogged , and even longer since I made a Sing with me Saturday post. Usually because hello , I forget what day it is until I wake up on Sunday and think " Oh crap ! I forgot again!" So before today is over I'm gonna give ya'll a quick list of Songs I'm looooving...

I need to update you guys on life too , so I guess i'll post that tomorrow or sometime in the future. lol. 

First up Is Hailee & Joe Jonas singing Rock Bottom. Oh my word guys. I love me some Jonas Brothers lately. But this song is literally everything to me right now. It is basically on repeat in my head. 

- I'm going to do a quick interjection here because I really want to add the video , but I can't find the one I want. Nick Jonas & Tove Lo singing Close. Seriously look it up on youtube because it's the next best thing after the above video. 

Okay I hate admitting to the next two because if you ask me I will adamantly insist that I dislike Justin Bieber with a burning passion. With that being said I find myself loving his music lately. It kills me to say it , but there it is. So this one is Love Yourself. 

Then Of course there is his best one yet "Sorry." I know, I know. I'm cringing. 

 

That will be my last video. I haven't watched the video for sorry , so I apologize if it's raunchy. On that exact note. Music i'm loving but the videos are a little scandelous right now are : 

Work at home by 5th Harmony 

No , by Megan Trainer. 

Watch those at your own risk , or youtube then minimize the screen. Whatever. I love them.